Electrical connectors for electrical cables are well known in the art. Such cables typically have a plurality of electrical conductors that terminate at a plug adapted to mechanically and electrically attach to the connector.
Often the signals on such electrical conductors need to be modified for a particular application, such as filtering particular frequencies therefrom with an arrangement of capacitors, for example. Frequently the modifying circuit components are fixed directly to the printed circuit board to which the connectors are attached, taking up valuable “real estate” on such PCB boards. In some prior art devices, the connector itself includes signal modification electrical components. However, in all prior art arrangements these signal modification electrical components are difficult and expensive to attach or assemble to the connector initially, or change at any time if the application for the connector varies. Further, manufacturers of such electrical connectors are required to provide a large number of different variations of electrical connectors for many different applications and customer requirements.
Therefore, clear there is a need for an electrical connector that facilitates the modification of electrical signals received by or transmitted through an electrical connector. Electrical filtering or voltage suppression, for example, would be readily added to signal lines of such a needed connector by attaching an appropriate modifier circuit board to the connector, eliminating the necessity of adding modifying components directly to the circuit board and thereby preserving space on the main PCB and reducing the number of modified PCBs necessary. Such a needed connector would allow manufacturers to easily and inexpensively produce only a small number of different connectors and as many modifier circuit boards as necessary for the varied applications of their customers. The present invention accomplishes such objectives.